A Cross -Ectional Survey on Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Physical Therapists Towards Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the number of physiotherapists who interrupted their services because of the COVID-19 pandemic and to verify the procedures adopted by the physiotherapists who are still working. Methods: It was a Cross sectional study. Study Setting was University of South Asia, Lahore. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaire. Physiotherapists working in Government and Private Hospitals in Lahore were recruited. Data was collected from October 2020 to November 2020. Non-probability Convenient sampling technique was used to recruit participants in study. Sample size of 241 Participants was calculated by using an online calculator (Raosoft,Inc.2004) with 5% margin of error, 95% confidence level and population of 462 physiotherapists working in Lahore in various Government and Private Hospitals Results: Out of 210 participants, males were 154 (73%) while females were 56 (27%). 37 (18%) were working in government hospitals while 173 (82%) were working in private setups. 14 (7%) were holding only undergraduate degree while 196 (93%) were post graduate. 28 (13%) were having up to 4 years of clinical experience working as physiotherapist, 65 (31%) were having up to 8 years of experience while 117 (56%) were having up to 12 years of clinical experience. When asked about Source of information on COVID-19, 16 (8%) chose Official international health organization sites and media, 18 (9%) chose Official government sites and media e.g. Ministry of Health Pakistan, 121 (58%) chose News Media e.g. TVs, radios, Magazines, Newspapers, 52 (25%) chose Social Media e.g. WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram while 2 (1%) chose journals and only 1 participant (.5%) chose others source of information. Conclusion: The distribution of Attitude, Knowledge, and Practice is the same across categories of source of information on COVID-19. Keywords: COVID-19, Coronavirus disease, Knowledge, Attitude, Practice